Korean Air Confirms June 17 Debut for A380

Posted 07/06/2011

South Korea’s national carrier Korean Air has confirmed that it will launch scheduled passenger flights with the Airbus A380 between Seoul Incheon and both Tokyo Narita and Hong Kong from June 17 after taking delivery of its first aircraft late last month.  The airline had originally planned June 1 as the entry into service date but subsequently delayed this after the aircraft only made its journey to Asia last week after successfully completing final flight and ground tests at the Airbus facility in Toulouse.

According to Korean Air, the inaugural A380 commercial fight, with the special code ‘KE380’ will take off from Incheon International Airport at 09:10 on June 17, arriving in Narita International Airport in Tokyo, Japan at 11:30 on the same day. The same flight will then return to Seoul, departing at 20:00 to Hong Kong International Airport and arriving at 22:30 (all local times) on the same day.

Korean Air has ordered ten A380 aircraft with the first five to be delivered by the end of 2011 and the remaining five by 2014. The airline will gradually expand its A380 service to popular short-haul routes in Asia, such as Bangkok in July, followed by long-haul routes to destinations in Europe and North America, such as New York in August, Paris in September and Los Angeles in October 2011.  The confirmation of Paris as a destination is an addition to the carrier’s earlier plan.  The A380 will be introduced on the flight to the French capital on a three times weekly basis from September 26, with the additional rotations to be served by a Boeing 747-400.

The airline has configured its aircraft in a three-class 407-seat arrangement, the most spacious of all the A380 customers to date, and is the first airline in the industry to have a ‘Duty Free Showcase’ on its new aircraft, featuring a great variety of duty-free products, such as cosmetics, perfumes, liquor and accessories, with a dedicated cabin crew member on hand to assist and advise passengers with all their shopping needs.

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